Nevada is the most recent state to take steps towards legalizing gay marriage. On Thursday, the state assembly passed a resolution that would keep gay marriage on the table in future legislative discussions. The tally was 27 – 14, the latter of which were all Republicans. While the process of legalization will still require another vote of the assembly and a ballot voted on by the residents of Nevada, this represents an important turning point for the state, which prohibited same-sex marriage by popular vote in 2002.

The passing of this resolution was helped in no small part by the testimony of high school senior, Riley Roberts, who spoke about his childhood being raised by lesbian mothers. His touching speech was peppered with tears, anger, and even laughter, but above all, Roberts repeated that his life was “amazing” because of his “two loving parents.” His childhood was no different than any of his friends, and he had all the opportunities, love, and stability that any other family could provide. Most of all, Roberts stressed that marriage equality wasn’t a matter of tolerating supposedly deviant behavior, but of agreeing to provide the “rights, freedoms, and ability to be full and equal citizens of the United States of America” to everyone in the country.